Slice in Review: The Top 16 of '16

2016 was an exciting year for Slice of MIT. Brass Rats were everywhere—in politics, in movies, and in a park in Auburn, Alabama. Readers were also piqued by 22-year-old milk, a faux attempt to change the Smoot, and MIT's longstanding place atop the college rankings. Not to mention our most popular story on 2016, which focused on Professor and alumnus Leonard Guarente's quest to slow down the aging process.

Our 16 most popular stories of 2016 are below. Check out the list then let us know your favorite in in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter. Thank you for reading and Happy New Year!

1. “Promote Longevity: Results from MIT Research” Aging may be inevitable, but Leonard Guarente ’74 believes he has found the key to slowing it down.
2. “MIT Named the Top University in the World” MIT was named the world’s top university for the 4th consecutive year and placed first in 11 other categories.
3. “Investigating the Milk, MIT’s Historic Dairy Product” MIT has a secretive resident in Random Hall: milk, which has migrated from floor to floor for decades.
4. “MIT Alumnus Elected Governor of Puerto Rico” Course 10 graduate Ricky Rosselló ’01 was elected governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
5. “2017 Graduate Rankings: MIT is First in 10 Categories” MIT’s School of Engineering was named best graduate engineering school for the 28th consecutive year.
6. “MIT to Recalibrate the Smoot” MIT announced that it will recalibrate the famous Smoot measurement. (Not really.)
7. “Maestro Myth: What Do Conductors Do?” Sarah Platte SM ’16 studies the science behind the influence of a composer on a musical performance.
8. “A Brass Rat Reunion, 50 Years Later” Stephen Meyer '64 knows exactly where he lost his Brass Rat in 1966. When he learned it was found, he couldn't believe it.
9. “Info Capture: Alumni Careers Pivot in a Decade” The occupations that MIT alums are starting in 2016 is a lot different than 10 years ago.
10. “Video: How to ‘Make’ Your Thanksgiving Turkey” Learn how to make a Thanksgiving dinner, OrigaMIT style.
11. “A New Brass Rat on the Silver Screen” Kirsten Wiig's character sports a Brass Rat in the new Ghostbusters film.
12. “Hyperloop Champs: Students Win Elon Musk’s Design Competition” MIT's Hyperloop team won the design competition for the pod, designed to travel at the speed of light.
13. “An Eye Test, Hacked” Pranksters, perhaps members of the Class of '20, conveyed a Caesar-ciphered message to MIT.
14. “More than 25 from MIT Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Lists in 2016” Check out the MIT alumni named to Forbes' 30 Under 30.
15. “Re-creating the Oscars: A Materials Science Story” Oscar statuettes return to tradition in a project led by Richard Polich SM '65.
16. “MIT Students to Intern at Lamborghini” More than 50 MIT students will work at Lamborghini and help pioneer the future of sports cars.